Overall despite paying the Christmas premium which we expected, we were shocked at how low the food quality was and cabins in terms of very old bedding. We were only on for 12 night, thankfully no longer. The cutbacks are very obvious, no toiletries in cabin, no flannels, no slippers, no shower caps etc, and a bar of soap which had no smell. Towels very hard and sheets bobbly plus a very cheap and heavy duvet, Looking forward to getting back on Cunard to hopefully erase this experience.

Overall the biggest surprise was the food, poor quality and the same every day in the buffet. Although I was advised by their Head Chef, that there was a pastry chef on board, most bakery goods seemed to be processed with for example only the same identical soft bread rolls no crusty ones. We did have our one expense of room service refunded as we ordered baguettes which were just soft dough, the prepacked ones that are meant to be crisps up in an oven and muffins straight from the freezer.

We have cruised P and O several times but over 10 years ago and this cruise came as a shock as to how low and cheap the experience was. It was perhaps noticeable that the normal photos of the Captain and his senior team were absent so a rather impersonal a experience. The additional cost restaurants were doing well and I can see why, it seems as if the overall food quality was designed to push you toward them. Overall, this ship is now about raising money (understandable with the Pandemic) with majority of items chargeable. The Costa Coffee area was always popular, at least that was the normal quality you should expect but obviously at a price. Read more